Today, I want to share with you what some fresh paint can do to your drab cabinets! My hubby and I are in the process of renovating our builder-grade master bathroom, and since we’re on a tight budget, we’re doing most of it ourselves. (Update: To see our farmhouse-styled master bathroom renovation with lots of before and after pics, click here!)

The first thing on our agenda was to search Craigslist for a newer and bigger vanity than our current builder-grade cabinet box. After patiently searching (which was hard to do for this girl!), we finally found the one we wanted — a 72-inch brand new vanity, complete with cane in the middle drawer fronts and a carrera marble countertop with two sinks! The only problem was that the vanity was mahogany, and that was NOT the look we were going for. So, the simple fix? Chalk paint, of course! (If you’d like to learn more about chalk paint, check out this post on another project I’ve completed using this amazing type of paint.)

So, here’s a “before” picture of our new vanity minus the legs, which you’ll see in a moment…

Here’s what I used:

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Graphite

Painter’s tray

Disposable painter’s tray (because who has time to wash those trays?!)

4″ roller and sponge (use the “best” option so that there’s no lint left on your freshly-painted furniture)

Painter’s drop cloth or old towels

Wax (I used and recommend Americana Creme Wax.)

Disposable foam brush

Round wax brush (Again, I used and recommend the Americana brand.)

Some fun music to help you enjoy the process 🙂

First, pick out your booty-shakin music (yes, that’s a thing — ha!), and prep your surface. Lay down the drop cloth. Also, make sure all the doors are off the hinges. Place all your hardware in a handy sandwich bag, so that when you’re ready to put everything back into place, you’ll easily find it!

Next, have all your supplies on hand, and thoroughly mix or shake your paint before pouring any into your painter’s tray.

On a quick sidenote, I’d like to point out this cool contraption that the hubs built for me, so that the vanity legs could easily be painted. He is so smart! 🙂

Below is a comparison of what the second layer of paint looked like, once applied. (I did have to apply about 3 coats to the cane drawer fronts because of all the little grooves.)

After the paint application was completely to my liking, I painted on several coats of the wax, using a round brush specifically for wax.

The picture below shows what it looked like after a coat or two of the wax, once it was applied.

And here’s how it looked, once it was almost dry. See that white-looking paint around the edges? I promise, it will dry clear.

Once the wax is completely dry, you are now ready to replace your knobs and legs!

Check out the pic below to see the “after” of our vanity project. If you’d like to read all about our farmhouse-style, master bathroom makeover, please click this link here. 😉

So, that’s it! What do you think about our vanity transformation? I’d love to hear about it! Comment below, or stop by and say hey on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, HomeTalk and Facebook. It always makes my day to hear from my sweet readers!

Hey sweet friends! Thanks so much for stopping by today! Before we begin, don’t forget to follow along with me on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, so you don’t miss another post!

I am about to share with you one of the easiest tricks of the century! You see, I bought two candles on clearance recently, and the containers were beautiful! In fact, the bowls looked almost identical to some of my anthropologie bowls. I just HAD to keep them once the candles were finished burning. (In the pic below, my Anthro bowls are on the left, and the candle is on the right.)

So, how was I gonna get that wax out? I’ve used the technique where you boil some water and then let the jar sit in the boiling water for a little while. Yes, it worked, but I didn’t feel like using that process this time. I wanted to find a quicker way.

So, here’s the secret that I discovered on Pinterest….You can actually remove your candle wax by freezing it! Now, I’m sure some of you have heard about this idea before, but for those of you who haven’t, I’d like to share with you how this new secret-in-my-pocket is done.

1. Place your candle carefully into the freezer.

2. Let it sit in the freezer for a few hours.

3. Patiently wait while it freezes over.

4. Pull your candle out and place on a secure surface.

5. Using a knife, GENTLY slide your knife in between the wax and the bowl. (When I say gently, I mean ever so tenderly! If not, below is what will happen to your beloved bowl. Thank goodness I had two!!)

6. You’ll be amazed at how easily the wax comes right out!

7. Once you’ve slid your knife all the way around and pulled the wax out, there’ll probably be a slight amount of wax residue. No problem! Just take a sponge and some dish soap and gently wash it.

You’ll find that there’s not much residue left on your knife at all! It’s simply amazing how well this “freezer” trick works!

8. Voila! There you have it! You could also use this method on glass jars. So exciting! The possibilities are endless!

Have you ever used this technique before? Or do you have any secrets on how to easily remove candle wax? I’d love to hear about them! Comment below, or stop by and say hey on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. It always makes my day to hear from my sweet readers. And as always, thanks for stopping by!

Hey friends! Don’t forget to follow along with me on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, HomeTalk and Facebook, so you don’t miss another post! I’m so excited to share with you about my recent office chair makeover!

I found this dilapidated and outdated mess at our local Goodwill for only $5! The seat back was broken on one side, and the fabric was from the 80’s. It was anything BUT pretty! Since it was that cheap, I figured that if I made it worse after trying to repair it, at least I didn’t waste too much money! Haha! Plus, the chair was solid wood, the padding was very comfy, and the cushions didn’t stink….Three very important requirements for me!

Sewing machine (This machine is the one I use, and I LOVE it! It’s so easy to manage, especially for the self-taught seamstress! I bought mine “factory-serviced” from Walmart. You can buy the same refurbished machine through Amazon for the same price.)

Next, I did what any smart person would do…cover and tape off the caster wheels with sandwich bags and painter’s tape. Haha. Like this…

Didn’t even think about trying to pull off the wheels before taping them….That is, until my sweet honey gave me that gentle instruction! Lesson learned!

So, now you’re ready to spray paint. Make sure there’s no strong breeze coming your way. Because, like I said earlier, you don’t want any valuables accidentally sprayed!

The spray paint dries super-quickly…as in, 10 minutes! And while it’s drying, you can staple your lovely fabric onto your cushions. Don’t worry about pulling off the old fabric. As long as you can’t see through your new fabric, you’re good to go!

To recover your bottom cushion….First, roll out the fabric with the right side facing the floor. Place your cushion on top and leave about a 4″ allowance (depending on the thickness of your seat) all the way around your cushion. It’ll look like this…

Pull it tight as you staple all the way around.

Trim off any excess fabric after completing your stapling.

And to recover your top cushion (the seat back), you’ll want to sew the sides together, so that the stapling doesn’t show in the back. I just took a long piece of fabric, folded the right sides together, and then sewed the two sides together. Once it was finished, I turned the fabric right-side out, slipped it over the cushion, and then stapled the bottom ends of the fabric onto the seat back. You can’t even tell it was stapled! Woohoo!

Now, all you have to do is put everything back together and then breathe a sigh of relief that yes, it WAS afterall, worth it to spend that $5! So fun!

If you like the ikat pillow above, here and here are a couple of tutorials on my diy pillows.

What do you think of this project? Do you love gold spray paint as much as I do? And have you repaired any old pieces of furniture from thrift stores or yard sales lately? I’d love to hear from you! Comment below, or stop by and say hey on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, HomeTalk and Facebook!

Hey sweet friends! Thanks so much for stopping by today! Before we begin, don’t forget to follow along with me on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, so you don’t miss another post!

Today, I wanted to share with you about a quick and inexpensive makeover on our kitchen-cabinet wall that I completed in a less than an hour! Inspiration came from a post that Dear Lillie made a while back, and I hope this post will inspire you as well!

foam sponge or pouncer (found here…or at the dollar store or any craft store)

paper plate or painter’s tray

First, wipe down the surface for any dust particles. And next, if you’re like me, then you’ll want to carefully tape off all the edges to prevent any paint overage. Some of you who are very detail-oriented get to skip this step! 🙂

Third, once you’ve taped off all the edges, you get to begin painting….The hardest part about a project is actually STARTING the project. So hop to it!

You’ll want to give the surface a little time to dry in between each coat so that the paint won’t rub off, and then, it’ll look a little something like this…

Once the paint is completely dry, the next step is to “season” the wall. And by seasoning, I mean that you need to turn a piece of chalk on its side and gently slide it across the wall and then up and down the wall. This process ensures that your art won’t stay there permanently…unless, that is, you want it to!

Now that you’ve seasoned your wall, take an old dishtowel or a paper towel, and gently wipe off the “seasoning.” The result will look like this…

The last step is to have fun with your artwork! My sweet daughter wanted to be responsible for the drawing on this new wall, so I let her go to town. 🙂 That’s the great part about having a chalkboard in your home….You can change out the artwork per the particular season of the year, or add an encouraging bible verse, or (as in my case at the moment), your precious children’s own artwork!

The pic below shows how it looked before my helper got her hands on it….

I like her artwork better, don’t you?! It’s much more special!

Anyway, now, you’re finished!

By the way, this small can of chalkboard paint doesn’t look like much, but it really goes a very long way! And if you’re interested, the towel rod came from Ikea and was super-easy to attach to the wall. Also, the fun, fringed towels came from TJMaxx. If you’d like to see another post on diy chalkboards, click here.

Thanks again for stopping by! What are your thoughts on this project? Have you done something similar? I’d love to hear about it and even see some pics! Comment below, or stop by and say hey on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. It always makes my day to hear from my sweet readers.

Hey friends! Thanks so much for stopping by! Before we begin, I want to remind you to follow along with me on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, so that you don’t miss another post!

Today, I wanted to share with you about thinking outside the box and looking for inexpensive ways to add fun decor to your home. More specifically, let’s focus on using something we don’t normally think to use as a pillow cover: placemats!

So, the other day, I was perusing the clearance aisles at Target, and saw these lovely placemats on clearance for a little over $1. I grabbed two, knowing exactly what I wanted to do with them….turn them into a pillow cover!

This project was one of the easiest, quickest projects I’ve ever done! Literally, it took 10 minutes from start to finish to make this cover (well, at least after my big mistake, which I’ll explain below)!

Now, I truly hesitate to share with you my stupid mistake, but I want to be totally real with you on my blog, mistakes and all. So here’s what I did wrong, and then I’ll share with you the correct way to do it. Lol.

Here’s what you don’t do…On the fringe sides, DON’T pin and sew the right sides together. Because as you’ll see in the pic below, the pretty fringe detail will end up being on the inside of the pillow!

Total bummer, to say the least. Thankfully, my seam ripper came in handy and was great at quickly ripping the seams out!

After that obvious, big no-no, here’s how I did it, the correct way…

First, I pinned the top, long-sides together, with the right-sides facing together. Then, I sewed that side together.

Yes, I know, that seam is not exactly lined up, but you can’t tell once it’s on the pillow insert. So there. 😉

Second, I turned it right-side out and pinned the “fringe” sides together and then sewed.

Lastly, because I change my pillow covers out so much, I normally don’t even touch the bottom seam….I leave it open, like this…

Once the bottom of the cover is “tucked in” on the couch, there’s no need to even worry about sewing the bottom! And hopefully, my guests are cool with it, too. 🙂

I love how this pillow cover pulls out the blues in the quilt and on the pillow cover behind it. And look, you can’t even tell that ANY of these pillow covers are unfinished on the bottom! Score!

Seriously, this project was so easy, I’m totally doing this again! And the best part? It only cost me $4!!!!

So when it’s time for you to shop for pillow covers, try to think outside the box. Shop around the clearance aisles and use something unexpected!

What was your latest project that was unique and different? I’d love to hear about it! Comment below, or stop by and say hey on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, HomeTalk and Facebook! It always makes my day to hear from my sweet readers!

Hey y’all, and thanks for stopping by! Today, I just wanted to share with you how changing a colors and textures can transform a a particular area in your home. Take, for instance, my window seat. I was getting pretty tired of that area and needed something different.

Below is a before pic…

Yes, I liked the fabric when I first safety-pinned (hey…don’t judge) it on a few months ago (during the Fall). And I made the pillows to pull out the colors on the seat cushion. (DIY pillow covers found here.) But with Spring around the corner, I needed a change. This setup was just too BLAH for me.

So, I shopped my house, and threw this simple arrangement together….

Nothing fancy. Just something different. It’s cute, and I like the neutral. It’s hard to tell in the picture, but the seat fabric is a real fun straw material. The white pillow and insert are from Ikea, and the rug and wreath were purchased on sale at Target. And the chalkboard is just chalk paint applied to the wall, with trim nailed around it.

Here’s my other option…

Isn’t it amazing how just one item can totally change the look of a space?! I love how this rug brings such life to this little nook in my kitchen! It was also purchased on sale at Target. What do you think? Which one is your favorite? I’d love to hear from you! Comment below, or stop by and say hey on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. It always makes my day to hear from my awesome readers!

Hello friends! Thanks so much for stopping by! Today, I’d like to share with you my thrift-store score of the year and how I changed it from a dingy, old piece of furniture to something beautiful!

A few months ago, I found this antique headboard at one of my fave thrift stores for (drum roll, please!) $30!!! You read that right! It was old and boring, but I looked past that and saw that it had great bones and great potential!

Here’s the before pic…

Chalk paint is so easy to use! There’s no stripping, sanding or priming required, and because it doesn’t have smelly fumes, you can use it inside your home! Woohoo!

What I used for this project:

Rub N Buff

pouncer

foam sponge brush

blue painter’s tape

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

I used two different colors of chalk paint….The base coat was the “Pure White” and the next coat was the “Old White.” And I applied two coats of each color. After that was complete, I taped off and painted the medallions.

Usually, when using chalk paint, applying a clear wax coat on top is so important. But since it’s just pillows that are leaning up against our new headboard, I skipped that step….And it’s held up great!

What do you think of this headboard of mine? I’m so pleased with it, and I love the freshness that it adds to our bedroom!

And what do you think about the diy lamps? If you’re interested in those, check this post out on how to make yard sale lamps look like a million bucks! And do you recognize the bedside tables? There’s a fun post on tweaking them just a small bit!

Thanks again for stopping by! I love your comments and encouraging words! You can comment below, or stop by and say hey on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. It always makes my day to hear from my sweet readers!

Update: Hey y’all! Here’s an updated photo of our headboard and the Ikea dresser on my side of the bed. I recently shared it on Instagram. 😉 And if you’re interested to know….Yes, the chalk paint on the headboard has held up extremely well!

Hello friends! Thanks for stopping by! Today, I wanted to share with you a quick and easy project that costs very little, yet packs a powerful punch in your decor! But before we begin, I wanted to remind you to follow along with me on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, HomeTalk and Facebook, so you don’t miss another post!

Let’s get started!

What you’ll need:

chalkboard paint (located in the paint section at Walmart, Home Depot, etc.)

foam sponge with wooden handle

paper plate

painter’s tape

frame with glass

My diy chalkboard started out like this….

The print’s pretty ugly, huh?! It definitely needed to be covered!

First, tape up the edges of your frame, and make sure there are no unsealed edges! You don’t want that black paint dripping onto your frame. You could always chip it off later if you needed to, but that’s an added step that you just don’t want to have to do! 🙂

Next, with your sponge in hand and paint poured onto your plate, gently paint the chalk paint across the glass, making sure to spread it evenly. Once your glass is covered, let it dry for about an hour before applying your next coat. If not, as you paint the second coat, some of the paint will come up. You don’t want that! 🙂

Third, after you’ve completely covered the glass with chalk paint, gently pull the painter’s tape off. (Don’t “rip” it off, or you’ll end up pulling some of the chalk paint off as well! Trust me, I know! Lol!)

Finally, you’ll want to “season” your newly-painted chalkboard with chalk! How to season: take a piece of chalk, turn it on its side, and rub the chalk back and forth AND up and down on the board, covering the glass completely. (If not, you’ll NEVER be able to fully erase what you’ve written on your board!) Wipe with a soft rag or paper towel, and then blow off any excess. Now, it’s ready to be used!! You can add your favorite scripture, or google “chalk art” and find all sorts of inspiring ideas! In addition to the diy scripture below, here’s another one that I did (source included). Or, if you don’t want to do any art, you can always simply hang a pretty wreathe in the middle!

Here’s what the finished product looks like now in our Sunday school room…

That’s it! This project is very easy, and I think every home owner needs at least a couple of chalkboards in their home! This decor is such an inexpensive upgrade and makes a beautiful statement!

Also, on another note, did you happen to notice the lamp and shade in the above pic? That’s actually a thrifted lamp, and it received a major overhaul! If you’d like to read all about that diy project, the easy tutorial on recovering a lamp shade can be found here, and the how-to on spray-painting a lamp can be found here.

Thanks for stopping by! If you have any questions at all, please feel free to comment below, or stop by Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, HomeTalk and Facebook and say hey. It always makes my day to hear from my sweet readers!

Hey friends! Thanks for stopping by! Recently, I did a little redecorating in our Sunday School class at church, and most of the decorating was completed on a shoestring budget! (Thank you to my wonderful hubby for helping me paint….ehem…..actually for doing most of the painting!!) Today, I’d like to share with you one of those projects….transforming an old, dilapidated lamp shade into a beautiful accessory!

A few weeks ago, I picked up a huge lamp with the shade for $5….It worked just fine and the bones were beautiful, but it needed some major lovin’! Here’s a before pic….(I’m sorry I don’t have the shade on the lamp! I totally forgot to take a complete pic before I refinished it!)

After spray-painting the lamp base (tutorial on how to spray paint a lamp found here), I recovered the shade with some fabric that I had laying around the house. This project is super-quick, and you probably already have all 3 supplies that are needed!

Here’s what you’ll need:

fabric

hot glue gun and glue sticks (found at craft stores or Target/Walmart in the craft section)

scissors

1. Start out by laying your fabric face down on the floor. Place the shade on one end of the fabric, while leaving plenty of seam allowance (about 2 inches) on either side of your shade. And then roll your shade across the fabric to see how much you’ll need. (You can either trace the shade onto the fabric as you roll it, or you can just eyeball it….which is what I did.) Now, you can cut your fabric! BUT before you cut your fabric to size, PLEASE measure twice…no three times…before cutting! Not that I’ve ever cut my fabric too short….Ahem. 😉 Not fun to fix that problem!

2. After cutting your fabric, lay the shade about 2 inches away from the fabric’s edge. You are now ready to hot glue!

3. Place about a 6-inch line of hot glue along the inside edge of the shade (starting out on either the top or the bottom of the shade). Tightly fold your fabric over the shade and push down the fabric onto the hot glue, holding it in place for a few seconds. Keep doing this all the way around the shade while continuing to smooth out your fabric, on both the top and bottom. Also, if your shade is like mine, where the “spider-fitter” (or metal piece that connects your shade to the lamp) is at the top, carefully cut slits in the fabric, so that the fabric will fold over the shade correctly.

4. Once you’ve hot glued the fabric tightly AROUND the lamp shade, place a skinny strip of hot glue UP the outside part of the shade’s edge. (On a side note, you can either leave the edge raw….which is what I chose to do….or you can iron your seam to give it a finished look. But since my lamp was against a wall, I didn’t have to worry about the back edge.)

And there you have it! A beautiful shade that adds so much life! You can also take it a step further and add trim along the top and bottom edge for a more dramatic effect. What do you think of my lamp shade? Are you inspired to make a lifeless lamp look gorgeous again? If so, I’d love to hear about it! Comment below, or stop by and say hey on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. It always makes my day to hear from my awesome readers! 😉

Hello friends! For a few weeks, I’d been on the hunt for a pair of matching lamps for our master bedroom….Lamps that had pretty curves for the right price!

My goal was to get a steal of a deal…no more than $15 each….I realize that’s cheap, but I also knew that, with a little patience, I could find what I was looking for. So a few weeks ago, I found these beauties at a yard sale! The man was selling the lamps for $5 each. But since I wasn’t certain that the lamps worked, I offered $4 for the PAIR, and he said yes! Can you believe that?! I kept my fingers crossed, hoping that when I plugged them in at home, they’d actually turn on. Aaaaaand….they did! Score! Sometimes it doesn’t always work that way, but yay for times when it does!!

What you’ll need:

Krylon Colormaster spray paint (I used the ivory color.)

Rub’n Buff (at any craft store)

pouncer sponge

painter’s tape

drop cloth

Let me make it clear that I’m in no way a professional, so I’m sure there are other ways to go about this project, but this is just what has worked for me. 🙂 I generally wing it….My philosophy is that it doesn’t matter how you go about a project, as long as the finished result meets your standards!

So first, you’ll want to move to a well-ventilated area and tape off the lamp wires – at least a little – so they don’t turn white! 🙂

Next, spray away! The lamps will dry fairly quickly to handle…maybe 5 minutes or so. Once they were dry, I brought them inside, placed them on some paper towels (in case there were any areas that weren’t quite dry yet).

The lamp color almost looks white, doesn’t it?! But it’s the perfect shade!

Third, squirt a tiny amount of the the rub’n buff onto a paper plate….A little goes a very long way! Dip your pouncer sponge into the gold paint and, using a steady hand, gently slide your pouncer along the bottom edge of the lamp.

So there you have it. A quick, 10-minute project that adds a wow factor!

To top it off, I found my lamp shades at Target on clearance for $13.97 each! Woohoo for more good deals! Plus, these shades ultimately helped me to reach my goal of spending around $15 each on the lamps!

What do you think of my garage-sale lamps? I’d say spending $4 on a little risk was totally worth it! Comment below, or stop by and say hey on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, HomeTalk and Facebook. It always makes my day to hear from my sweet readers!